I want you to open your Bibles
to the book of Matthew, chapter 16. Matthew 16, and we'll read beginning with
verse 13. Matthew 16, 13. My message tonight is on the
subject, Who is Jesus Christ? Who is Jesus Christ? In Matthew 16, verse 13, when
Jesus came into the coast of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his
disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I, the Son of Man, am? And they said, Some say that
thou art John the Baptist, some, and others, Jeremias or one of
the prophets. He said unto them, But whom say
ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and
said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto
him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona, or flesh and blood hath
not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven."
Now this man, Jesus Christ, was born two thousand years ago in
utter poverty. The Scripture says there was
no room for him in the inn, but he was born in a manger. and
laid in a stall, surrounded by shepherds and cattle. He was reared in obscurity. He was the son of an unmarried
young woman. His foster father was not a man
of influence. He was a most inconspicuous man. He made his living as a carpenter.
His name was Joseph This man, Jesus Christ, had no formal training
at all. He had no formal education. As far as we know, he never traveled
over 90 miles from his hometown. His friends were all poor people,
unknown people, called by the religious leaders publicans and
sinners. This man, Jesus Christ, never
owned a piece of property. He never owned a house. He never
held a public office, and as far as we know, his only possession
was the robe on his back. When he was thirty-three years
of age, he was accused of preaching heresy. And upon the testimony
of false witnesses hired to testify against him, he was brutally
mistreated by the soldiers, denounced by the religious leaders, sentenced to be hanged on a tree. He didn't have but twelve followers,
faithful followers, called his disciples. One of them sold him
for eighteen dollars. Another one denied several times
that he even knew him. And the rest of them forsook
him and fled when he was arrested. Finally he was taken outside
the walls of the city of Jerusalem and nailed to a cross between
two thieves. During his dying hour, according
to his own testimony, even the Heavenly Father turned away from
him. He was taken down from that cross
and was so poor that he was buried in a borrowed tomb. Now this
man, Jesus Christ, never wrote a book. Yet all the libraries
in the world cannot contain the books written and printed about
him. This man Jesus Christ never wrote
a song, yet he's been the theme of more songs than all other
subjects combined. This man Jesus Christ never founded
a college, yet all the colleges together cannot boast of his
many students as those who have and are studying his life. This
man Jesus Christ never studied medicine, yet he healed more
broken bodies and broken hearts than all the physicians who ever
lived. Satan himself could not seduce
him. Religious leaders could not answer
him. The best lawyers of his day could
not entangle him. The government could find no
fault in him. Death could not destroy him,
and the grave could not hold him. Who is this man, Jesus Christ? Now, the whole world will admit
that Jesus Christ was the finest specimen of humanity that ever
lived. You can find no one to argue
with you on this point. It doesn't matter whether it's
an atheist or agnostic or skeptic. It doesn't matter whether it's
a preacher, a cultist, who it might be. Everyone is in total
agreement that Jesus Christ was the finest specimen of humanity
that ever lived upon this earth. I believe the whole world will
admit that his teachings are the purest and the loftiest,
his moral code, his principles, his convictions. The whole world
will admit that his actions were faultless, the most faultless
that the world has ever seen. But from the time that he walked
on this earth, there has been no end to the controversy regarding
who he is, who is Jesus of Nazareth. He asked his disciples here,
what are the people saying? Whom do men, and when we use
that word here, we mean those outside the faith. those outside
the inner circle, those outside the school of believers, whom
do men say that I am?" And the disciples answered back, and
they said, they're saying a lot of things. Some people think
you're John the Baptist who's come back from the dead. Some
say you're Elias, some say you're Jeremiah, some say you're one
of the prophets. They're saying a lot of good
things about you, a great prophet. a great reformer, a great preacher,
a great healer. Some said after he died he was
a great religious martyr. But then the master turned to
his disciples and said, but whom say ye that I am? That's my question tonight. Who
is Jesus Christ? And I'll answer it with five
or six statements, and I'll ask you to turn with me to Isaiah
chapter 6. First of all, Jesus of Nazareth
is the Holy One, the Holy One. Now, the Word of God plainly
declares that only God is holy. The scripture says holy and reverend
is his name. Holy and reverend is God's name. The scripture says there is none
good but God. In other words, there's none
holy but God. When the rich young ruler came
to Christ and called him good master, he said there's none
good but God. And here in Isaiah chapter 6,
verse 1, Isaiah wrote, in the year that
King Uzziah died, that I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne
high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Above it stood
the seraphims, each one had six wings, with two he covered his
face, with two he covered his feet, with two he did fly. And one cried unto another, and
said, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord. Holy is the Lord. I say that Jesus Christ is the
Holy One, the same One that we're reading about right here. If
you'll turn with me to Mark chapter 1, verse 24. I want to read a
scripture, Mark chapter 1 verse 24. The religious leaders did
not know him when he came to this earth. They could not even
interpret the signs of the scriptures. They failed to recognize the
signs that God gave them. The kings and rulers did not
know who he was. Even some of those who were looking
for the Messiah, like John the Baptist, had their periods of
doubt concerning Jesus Christ. For John sent the disciples to
Christ on one occasion and asked him if he was the Messiah or
if he looked for another one. And even his disciples, after
all the miracles and even the resurrection, had trouble believing. But there were some folks here
in Mark chapter 1, I call them folks, but some things. Let's
put it that way. There were some spirits that
recognized him immediately, for these spirits were before the
disciples and before the religious leaders and before the kings
and magistrates. These spirits of whom we read
here were before the Old Testament prophets. They were before even
Adam and Eve. These demons of whom we read
here were before the foundation of the earth, and when they saw
him in his bodily form on this earth, they knew immediately
who he was. Now look at it, Mark 1, verse
23, And there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit,
and he cried out, saying, Let us alone What have we to do with
thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? Art thou come to destroy us?
I know thee who thou art. You're the holy one of God, just
one holy. Holy and reverend is his name. Whose name? God's name. There's
none good but God. And these demons, when they,
when he came on the scene and in their presence
on this occasion, they spoke up and they said, We know who
you are. And on another occasion they
cried, Have you come to torment us before our time, before the
day of judgment, before the day of God's wrath and God's ultimate
eternal condemnation? We know who you are. You're the
Holy One of God. Peter said of Jesus of Nazareth,
he did no sin. That can never be said of a man,
for the Bible says if a man says he has no sin, the truth's not
in him. Paul said of him, he knew no
sin. He must make sin for us who knew
no sin. Neither was guile found in his
mouth. Christ said of himself, I always
do those things that please my Father. Always. He is the Holy
One. Who is Jesus of Nazareth? He
is the Holy One. Now secondly, I want you to turn
with me to the book of Exodus. Now every Bible student in here
knows that God refers to himself as I am. That is, God cannot
say I was. God cannot say I will be. God
is the eternal, ever-present I am. And when Moses said to
him in verse 13 of Exodus 3, look at it, Exodus 3 verse 13,
Moses said to God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel,
and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent
me unto you, and they shall say, What is his name? What shall
I say to them? And God said to Moses, I am that
I am. And he said, Thus shalt thou
say unto the children of Israel, I am hath sent me unto you. When the Lord Jesus Christ spoke
to the Pharisees concerning himself, he said, before Abraham was,
I am. I am. Jesus of Nazareth, this
son of Mary, this son of poverty and obscurity, this uninfluential,
inconspicuous carpenter out of Nazareth, when they said, Who
are you? He said, I am. When he was standing out there
in the garden, when the soldiers came to arrest He looked at them
and he said, Whom seek ye? They said, We seek Jesus of Nazareth. And he answered, I am. He did not say, I am he. If I
am he is in your translation of the Bible, you'll find that
he is in italics, or should be. He said, I am. And when he said
that, they fell backward to the ground. Look at Micah, chapter
5, the little book of Micah, chapter 5, right after the book
of Jonah in the Minor Prophets. Micah, chapter 5, verse 2. Listen
to this. But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah,
though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of
thee shall he come forth unto me, that is, to be ruler in Israel. whose goings forth have been
from of old, from everlasting." Jesus of Nazareth is not only
the Holy One, He is the Eternal One. Out of Bethlehem shall come
forth unto me He that is to be ruler in Israel, whose goings
forth have been from of old, from everlasting. Look at Isaiah chapter 9, verse
6. Now this is important. Who is
Jesus of Nazareth? When Christ asked the disciples
whom men said that he was, whom the men say that I am, they based
their answer on hearsay, personal judgment, personal ideas. We've got to base our judgment
on who Jesus Christ is, by what the Bible says about him. In
Isaiah 9, verse 6, talking about the birth of Christ, it says,
unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government
shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful,
Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince
of Peace. Now this world has a lot to say
about Jesus being the Prince of Peace, but in the same sentence
in which he's called the Prince of Peace, he's called the Everlasting
Father. He's also called in the same
sentence that calls him the Prince of Peace, he's called the Mighty
God. I think religious people today
are the most inconsistent and dishonest people that the world
has ever seen, because they're so good at picking parts and
pieces out of the Bible and basing doctrines on it. You can't just
reach into that Isaiah 9, 6 and lift out the Prince of Peace
and put it on the wall and say, Jesus of Nazareth is the Prince
of Peace. Sure he is, but he's the mighty
God, too. He's the everlasting Father,
and he's the Prince of Peace. And he's the Prince of Peace
because he's the mighty God. If he were not the mighty God,
he wouldn't be the Prince of Peace. And Colossians 1, 17 says
of him, listen, and he is before all things. Speaking of Jesus
Christ. He is before all things. He is the Eternal One. Eternal. Now thirdly, he is the holy one,
and makes him God, because only God is holy. He is the eternal
one, he is the everlasting Father, whose goings forth have been
from of everlasting, and he is the unchangeable one. Hebrews
13, verse 8. Unchangeable. In Hebrews 13,
verse 8, it says this, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today, and forever. How can he be the same? Because
he never learns anything, he knows all things. He never forgets
anything. Nothing can be added to him,
nothing can be taken away, because he's complete. Therefore he is
the same. There's nothing in heaven, earth,
or hell that is the same except God, because only God is perfect. You can't be any better than
perfect, complete, independent. And he's the same. Now turn to
Hebrews chapter 1. This is very important here,
Hebrews chapter 1. We're talking about Jesus of
Nazareth. Who is he? Who is he? In Hebrews chapter 1, verse 8,
and under the sun, he said, Hebrews 1, 8. I want everybody with a
Bible to find this now and look at it. Hebrews 1, 8. Under the
sun, he said, Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever. A scepter
of righteousness is the scepter of thy kingdom. thou hast loved
righteousness and hated iniquity. Therefore God, even thy God,
hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.
And thy Lord in the beginning hath laid the foundation of the
earth, and the heavens are the work of thine hands. They shall
perish, but thou remainest, and they all shall wax old as doth
a garment. and as a vesture shalt thou fold
them up, and they shall be changed. But thou art the same, and thy
years shall not fail." Thy years shall not fail. John
1 says, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with
God, and the Word was God, and all things were made by Him,
and without Him was not anything made that was made. And the Word
was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory,
the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace
and truth. He that hath seen me, Christ
said, hath seen my Father. I and the Father are one. Who is Jesus Christ? He's the
Holy One. He is the Eternal One, who is
Jesus Christ. He is the Unchangeable One. And
in the fourth place, He's the Living One. He said in John chapter
5, John chapter 5, verse 26, listen to it, For as the Father
hath life in Himself, so hath He given to the Son to have life
in Himself. and hath given unto him authority
to execute judgment also because he is the Son of Man. Marvel
not at this, for the hour is coming in the which all that
are in the graves shall hear his voice." Whose voice? Christ's. And they shall come forth at
the sound of his voice because he is life. He said, I am the
way, the truth, and the life. And he said to Mary and Martha,
I am the resurrection and the life. He that believeth in me,
though he were dead, yet shall he live. Outside of Jesus Christ,
there's death, legal death, moral death, physical death, and eternal
death. In the fifth place, who is Jesus
Christ? Turn with me to Matthew 28. He's
the Holy One, He's the Eternal One, He's the Unchangeable One,
He is the Living One. And in Matthew 28, verse 18,
He is the Powerful One, Omnipotent. In Matthew 28, verse 18, And
Jesus spake, came and spake unto them, and said, All power All
authority is given unto me in heaven and in earth." All authority. Not some authority, not some
power. Not just power to still oceans
and heal the sea. All power. All authority is given
unto me. All authority in heaven. all
power, complete control, and all power on this earth. He said
in John 17 that he has, I want you to turn there and read it
for yourself, he has all power in heaven, he has all power on
earth, and he has all power over all flesh. John 17, 2, listen. As thou hast given him power
over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many
as thou hast given him." All authority. He has all power over death. He has all power over the universe. Turn to Hebrews chapter 1, verse
3. In Hebrews 1, verse 3, listen
to Let's read verses 1, 2, and 3. God, who at sundry times and
in diverse manners, or different manners, spake in time past unto
the fathers, but the prophets hath in these last days spoken
unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things,
by whom also he made the worlds, who being the brightness of his
glory and the exact or express image of his person, and upholding
all things by the word of his power. He upholds all things,
the universe, all power, all principalities, all rulers, the
sun, the moon, the stars, the orbit, the turning of the earth. He upholds all these things by
the word of his power. by whom the worlds were made,
and by whom the worlds are held." And then in Mark chapter 2, he
is the all-powerful one, that is, he has all power in heaven,
he has all power on the earth, he has all power over all flesh,
he has all power over death, he has all power over the universe,
He has the power to forgive sin. In Matthew 2, verse 10, But that
ye may know that the Son of Man hath power, authority on earth
to forgive sin. He said to the sick of the palsy,
I say unto thee, Arise, take up thy bed, and go thy way into
thine house. And immediately he arose, and
took up the bed, and went his way The Son of Man hath power on
earth to forgive sin. And then in the sixth place,
He is the Omniscient One. There are three scriptures that
I want to read here, John chapter 2, verse 24. In John 2, verse
24, it says, Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he
knew all men. God's omniscient, that is, God
knows all things. And Jesus Christ knew all men
and did not need any testimony concerning what was in man. He
knew what was in man. And then John 6, 64 says, Jesus
knew from the beginning who would not believe and who would betray
him. And then in John 16, 30, it is
said, O Lord, thou knowest all things. And then again, Jesus
knew their thoughts. In the seventh place, He is the
ever-present One. Now let's read John 1, verse
18. John 1, verse 18. No man hath seen God at any time. The only begotten, which is in
the bosom of the Father, he hath declared Him." When Christ was
here on the earth, He spoke of Himself as being in the bosom
of the Father. Let's turn to John 3.13. Listen
to this. John 3.13. Now watch it carefully. And no man hath ascended up to
heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of Man which is
in heaven? Even the Son of Man which is
in heaven? One great writer had this to
say. The Son of Man, the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, miraculously descended from heaven,
for a time was clothed in the likeness of sinful flesh, took upon himself a human body,
and lived on this earth in the presence of people for over 33
years. Yet he did this in such a manner
that he never left heaven. He chose to be born of a virgin,
to live on the earth and to die on a cross. Yet he never ceased
to fill the universe. It would fall apart without him. He filled that universe in the
same manner as from the beginning and in the same manner in which
he fills it right now. He is the ever-present One who
can say to any disciple, whether he's in Germany or France or
Spain or Russia or America or South America or in the heart
of the jungles or up the farthest point of the Amazon, Lo, I'm
with you. Yet he's at the right hand of
the Father, who can say where two or three are met together,
I will be in their midst. Who can say to his disciples,
Go ye into all the world and teach all nations, and lo, I'm
with you always, even to the end of the earth. You say, how can you explain
that? I can't explain God. A person doesn't explain God,
he believes God. If he could explain God, he'd
be God, and his God would be no bigger than himself. Thou
thoughtest, God said, that I was altogether such a one as thyself,
but I'm not. The heaven of heavens cannot
contain him. And while he miraculously descended
from heaven, yet in such a manner he never left heaven, He is the
Son of Man who was on the earth and at the same time in the bosom
of the Father. No man hath descended from heaven
save the Son of Man which is in heaven. And then last of all, who is
Jesus Christ? John chapter 5, verse 22. He is the Judge of all the earth. Verse 21 of John 5 says, For
as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them, even
so the Son quickeneth whom he will. For the Father judgeth
no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son. Who is Jesus Christ? He is the
Light of He is the glory of heaven. He is the king of heaven. He
is the life of heaven. Our Father, take thy word, and
in a powerful, personal way, apply it to our hearts. We do
not want only a head knowledge of doctrine and theology. We want a hard experience. We want to know Thee, the living
God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent. We want that faith which believes,
that faith which bows, and that faith which receives Christ in
all His glory and fullness. We cannot explain how that the
Lord Jesus Christ can be here with us, be at thy right hand,
be our intercessor, be our mediator, govern the worlds, uphold all
things by the word of his power, and yet thy word has declared
that it is so. God was in Christ, reconciling
the world unto himself. Teach us, O Lord, more about
Thyself. Reveal unto us Thy will. But
chiefly give us that contrite spirit and that broken heart
that does not seek a sign, but seeks faith in the revealed Word
of the living God. For it's in the name of the Lord
Jesus Christ, and for His glory we pray. Amen.